Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Tue May 13th Todays News

It is a joke that religious people see things and may be inspired by adversity, or nothing. But on this day in 1373, an unknown woman had a vision which defines, and illustrates, what we know today of what religious thought was then. She is called Julian of Norwich because her writings were found in an anchoress's cell which was built onto the wall of the church of St Julian in Norwich. From her visions she wrote "Revelations of Divine Love." She wrote in English, and so it is the earliest text we have written in English. She said she was unlettered, which may mean she was not literate in Latin. Some say she was a universalist, believing that all will be saved, but she did not write that, she merely wrote she hoped for that. And so arguments arise over diminutions that say more about the readers than the writer. I focus on this today because it is the National Budget being brought before parliament and, for a long time, people have inferred and argued over what has not been said, but which they assume. The truth is, although spinners aren't admitting it, that previous ALP government was shockingly bad and has left the economy in need of exceptional government. From a position of substantial surplus to substantial debt, defenders of the previous corrupt government claim the economy is not that badly off, and there are many governments worse off. That misleading truth obscures the fact that cuts need to be made for Australia to stand still. We had lots of cash, now we owe it. And we have nothing to show for it. And our children are slated to suffer for it. The ALP are very keen that the poorest suffer while they are in opposition. They have a policy of opposing the ending of a Carbon Dioxide tax even though when they were last in government they ran a policy claiming they had ended it. The government needs to cut spending, but the ridiculous tax aimed at limiting plant food does not even do that. All it does is make business more difficult, meaning fewer jobs and a weaker economy. It is difficult to see a single policy pursued by the ALP which provides for the poor, or struggling workers. The ALP aimed for unemployment to be higher than it now is. They see things happening that others do not. My bet is they will never author a text as acutely important or beneficial as "Revelations of Divine Love."===For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball
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Hatches

Happy birthday and many happy returns Steve Wolf and Emily Wong. Born on the same day, across the years. The same day which in 1888 saw Princess Isabel of the Empire of Brazil formally abolishing slavery. Also the same day three children had their first Our Lady of Fatima visions. A lot to live up to. You can do it.

1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first man with dark skin to command a United States ship.

1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.

Tim Blair – Tuesday,May 13,2014 (2:16am)

Allowing politicians whose ambition and arrogance greatly outweigh their abilities and character to acquire their own private armies is seldom a good idea.

To take just one obvious example: when Adolf Hitler gave his mate Heinrich Himmler control of the SS in 1929, the organisation was a single battalion of 290. Within a year Himmler had raised its ranks to 3,000 and by the time Hitler gained supreme power in 1933 the SS numbered 52,000. And so it went.

Where is Mungo headed with all of this old-timey Nazi talk? You’ll never guess:

Scott Morrison has already done great damage to Australia’s reputation and to our foreign policy. And something warns me that we ain’t seen nothing yet.

Tim Blair – Tuesday,May 13,2014 (2:13am)

No refugees please, we’re New Zealanders. That’s the message from New Zealand’s court of appeal. In a decision released last week the court endorsed earlier rulings that Ioana Teitiota – a Kiribati national – is not a climate change refugee. Teitiota, his wife and their children will be deported to Kiribati, where the court believes they can “resume their prior subsistence life with dignity”.

Even if the Teitiota’s can reclaim some dignity, climate change will take it from them. The IPCC projects that the Pacific ocean will swallow most Kiribati by the end of this century.

Ioana Teitiota is 37. By the end of the century, when Teitiota’s dignity will be stolen by climate change, he’ll be 123. His youngest child will be 85 or so. At that point, climate change might be the least of their problems.

Tim Blair – Tuesday,May 13,2014 (2:10am)

Andrew Marlton’s draughtsmanship sure has improved since he joined the Guardian. No, wait – these are drawings byillegal immigrant children, gathered by Australian Human Rights Commission medical consultants Sarah Mares and Karen Zwi:

Along with three other colleagues, we interviewed 230 families. While we talked, we provided paper and pens and invited children to draw pictures that would tell us something about their lives.

Apparently their lives involve being murdered by the Prime Minister:

According to the Guardian: “This drawing by a child includes a smiling Tony Abbott holding a gun.” No. It clearly shows Abbott firing a gun at a seven-year-old, while dead or dying children bleed on the ground. Why would any parent bring a child to a country ruled by such a murderous tyrant? Best they be resettled somewhere safer, like Iran.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner is
investigating superannuation giant Cbus over another leak of personal
details to the construction union.
Privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim began an investigation this year
into claims Cbus employee co-ordinator Steve Gaske leaked information
about more than 300 employees of a company subject to a construction
union industrial campaign.
Mr Gaske is honourary president of the Queensland branch of the
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. Cbus files reveal an
internal inquiry by the fund found Mr Gaske inappropriately sent
personal details of the workers to a third party “without consent” and
underwent “remedial training” as a result.
On Monday, Fairfax Media reported that NSW CFMEU state secretary Brian
Parker allegedly conspired with a Cbus employee to get personal details
of 400 workers, including their addresses and financial details, to help
an industrial campaign…
News of a second privacy breach involving the CFMEU will further
pressure the Cbus board, which includes Australian Council of Trade
Unions president Ged Kearney, CFMEU national secretary Dave Noonan, NSW
CFMEU president Rita Mallia and is chaired by former Victorian premier
Steve Bracks. There is no suggestion the Cbus board knew of the leaking
of the members’ details.

Lennart Bengtsson - a Swedish
climatologist, meteorologist, former director of the Max Planck
Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg and winner, in 2006, of the 51st
IMO Prize of the World Meteorological Organization for his pioneering
work in numerical weather prediction - is by some margin the most
distinguished scientist to change sides.
For most of his career, he has been a prominent member of the warmist
establishment, subscribing to all its articles of faith - up to and
including the belief that Michael Mann’s Hockey Stick was a
scientifically plausible assessment of the relationship between CO2
emissions and global mean temperature.
But this week, he [agreed] to join the advisory council of Britain’s
Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), the think tank created by the
arch-sceptical former Chancellor Lord Lawson.
Though Bengtsson is trying to play down the significance of his shift -
“I have always been a sceptic and I think that is what most scientists
really are” he recently told Germany’s Spiegel Online, denying that he
had ever been an “alarmist” - his move to the GWPF is a calculated snub
to the climate alarmist establishment…

“I have used most of my career to develop models for predicting the
weather. I have learned the importance of forecasting validation, i.e.
the verification of predictions with respect to what has really
happened. So I am a friend of climate forecasts. But the review of model
results is important in order to ensure their credibility. It is
frustrating that climate science is not able to validate their
simulations correctly. The warming of the Earth has been much weaker
since the end of the 20th century compared to what climate models show.”

Bengtsson went on to reject another pillar of the warmist faith - the existence of a “consensus.”

“I have great respect for the scientific work that goes into the IPCC
reports. But I see no need for the endeavour of the IPCC to achieve a
consensus. I think it is essential that there are areas of society where
a consensus cannot be enforced. Especially in an area like the climate
system, which is incompletely understood, a consensus is meaningless.”

A new video issued by Boko Haram claims to show some of the nearly 300
schoolgirls missing in Nigeria, who the Islamist group’s leader says
have converted to Islam.
Abubakar Shekau reportedly said the girls would not be released until his fighters being held in prison are freed…
In the video, the militant chief speaks for 17 minutes before showing
what he says are about 130 of the girls, wearing full-length hijabs,
reciting the first chapter of the Koran and praying in an undisclosed
rural location…
Holding a pad of paper in his hand, Shekau tells the camera: “These
girls, these girls you occupy yourselves with their affair we have
indeed ‘liberated’ them. We have indeed ‘liberated’ them.
“Do you know ‘we have liberated them’? These girls have become Muslims. They are Muslims.”

In his always punchy The Bolt Report on the Ten Network on Sunday, Bolt
showed two clips to “prove” Abbott had broken his promise “not to raise
taxes”.
The first was from March 2012. Setting aside what Abbott actually said,
which proved no such thing, something said in the everyday rough and
tumble of political debate 18 months before an election simply does not
qualify as an “election promise” in any rational universe…
Bolt’s second clip was from the 2013 election campaign. It had Abbott
saying: “The only party that will raise taxes after the election is the
Labor Party.”
That simply does not equate with Julia Gillard’s “There will be no
carbon tax.....” It is common political rhetoric of the sort we’ve had
since time immemorial; the assertion of the nasties the other side will
deliver. It is not a promise of what his side will or will not do…
Abbott had to specifically rule out any tax increases under his
government, for his assertion, his political rhetoric, to be converted
into a promise…
We are apparently getting two tax increases today — a temporary increase
in the top marginal personal tax rate, and perhaps the very top end of
the second top rate; and a return to indexing the fuel excise.
They are not new taxes, they are increases in existing taxes. Abbott has not broken the alleged promise not to have new taxes…
And he committed to getting the Budget back to balance by cutting
spending — with the objective to be able as a consequence, to long term
deliver lower taxes.
None of this amounts to what would have been an absurd promise to not
raise any tax, ever, even marginally, and far less temporarily.

The ABC is not merely
biased but a disgraceful peddler of character assassination of
conservatives. It’s already portrayed Chris Kenny as a “dog-f..ker” and
me as a racist, and only grudgingly apologised.
Now it gives a platform to Mungo MacCallum to liken Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to Heinrich Himmler and a military-led border operation to the SS:

Operation Sovereign Borders is out of control and
running amok.... Morrison ... is definitely a minister on the make; he
has revelled in speculation that he could one day take the top job
himself. Which should make the thoughtful very nervous. Allowing
politicians whose ambition and arrogance greatly outweigh their
abilities and character to acquire their own private armies is seldom a
good idea.
To take just one obvious example: when Adolf Hitler gave his mate
Heinrich Himmler control of the SS in 1929, the organisation was a
single battalion of 290. Within a year Himmler had raised its ranks to
3,000 and by the time Hitler gained supreme power in 1933 the SS
numbered 52,000. And so it went.

Why are taxpayers dollars being used to publish this vicious calumny?
Mark Scott should apologise for the ABC’s latest savaging of a
conservative and order The Drum editor Chip Rolley to take it down.
Can Scott also explain why the ABC reserves its slops bucket for conservatives?
The ABC is out of control.

Ralph Blewitt’s evidence yesterday included a nugget of information that suggests questions for Julia Gillard later:

AMONG the hundreds of documents placed before Ralph Blewitt, the first
witness at the national royal commission into union corruption
yesterday, was one recovered from 1993.
[It was an] advertisement for a Fitzroy, Melbourne, terrace house that was to be auctioned ...

The commission heard that while Blewitt [became] its owner, he ...did
not see it before it was bought nor go to the auction. He did not live
in it…
He claims the house was purchased for his boss in the AWU, Bruce
Wilson, who was accompanied to the auction by his then girlfriend and
solicitor, Julia Gillard. Blewitt’s function was to be the fall guy who
lent his name to the transaction and provided the cash for the deposit
and the balance of the mortgage, which was organised by Slater &
Gordon, Gillard’s employer.
Blewitt said he did as he was told. He pulled the necessary cash out of
the account of the AWU Workplace Reform Association Inc, the secret
slush fund registered in Western Australia on Gillard’s legal advice ...
Expenses reimbursement records placing Blewitt at a “Slater & Gordon
dinner” at the Patee Thai restaurant in Fitzroy on February 3, 1993,
for which he claimed $80 from the AWU, were accompanied by other records
indicating he returned to Perth the next morning.
This
evidence could become more important because of his earlier claims that
a February 4 power-of-attorney document was falsely witnessed by the
Melbourne-based Gillard.

A brilliant example of how many on the Left deal in dreams and feelings, not reality and evidence - particularly when discussing global warming:

Message from the Court of Appeal! Morgan Godfery, The Guardian, yesterday:

NO refugees please, we’re New Zealanders. That’s the message from New Zealand’s Court of Appeal.

Message from Immigration. New Zealand Refugee Quota 2013-14 to 2015-16:

REFUGEE Quota Programme remains at 750 annually.

Kiribati is sinking! Godfery, The Guardian, yesterday:

BEFORE Kiribati sinks beneath the sea, ocean creep will make the islands
uninhabitable … Tarawa, the main atoll, is a tiny sandstrip some six
square miles in size. There is, quite literally, no escaping the misery
climate change will cause.

Remember how the media Left was near-unanimous in cheering Labor’s worst
mistakes - scrapping tough border laws, introducing a carbon tax,
calling a vindictive media inquiry, unleashing over-the-top spending
during the financial crisis, rolling out an uncosted mega-billion
national broadband network, promising huge new spending of borrowed
billions on education and more. Remember how the media Left was for
years not just totally incurious about the AWU slush fund scandal but at
times determined to excuse Julia Gillard’s involvement?
See how this cheering led Labor to electoral disaster and the country to
massive debts? See how the squalid truth is now leaking out?
Now note the absence of such group think among conservative commentators under a conservative government:

Given the past six years of tortured federal leadership and the
attempt to shunt blame on to an imagined media vendetta, it is
instructive to look at the criticism being meted out to the Abbott
government. Staunch News Corp critics of Mr Rudd and Julia Gillard —
such as Andrew Bolt, Miranda Devine and Chris Kenny — have been earliest
and strongest in their condemnation of Tony Abbott’s broken election
promises. This shows the dispassionate consistency we need to see in a
national debate, as do cogent arguments from News Corp writers such as
Terry McCrann and Greg Sheridan arguing virtually the opposite point of
view. For the past six years, on the liberal-Left side of the media and
political divide, we have seen a blancmange of groupthink and a
delusional denial of obvious failings, presumably in an attempt to
buttress a government whose ideals were cherished. This absence of
scepticism and debate does not bolster government but weakens it;
doesn’t repair weaknesses but exacerbates them; and doesn’t prevent the
eventual reckoning but rather allows it to gather momentum.

Greens leader Christine Milne rejected the government’s claims of a
“budget crisis” and said there should be permanent action on tax, such
as a lift in the tax rate for the wealthy, rather than an ­"ideological
hit on the poor” by withdrawing benefits. “We’ve got a carbon price —
let’s keep it. We’ve got a mining tax — let’s keep it,” Senator Milne
said. The Greens will vote for the increase in the petrol excise but
want the revenue to go to public transport rather than roads, she said.

The Government claims it’s keeping its fundamental promise on taxes, but
its calculations rely on scrapping the carbon tax - which is still
there and can’t possibly get through the Senate until new Senators take
over in July:

Mr ­Abbott promised “tax cuts without new taxes” when in opposition.
Putting a contentious new claim at the heart of the budget, the
government will rely on Treasury analysis to promise a $5.7bn cut in the
“overall tax burden” next year to offset the new revenue measures.
The tax reduction contrasts with a $107.3bn Treasury estimate for the
cost of Labor tax increases over the past six years, including the
carbon tax.

Today’s budget must deliver a plausible fiscal plan. If promises are
broken, they will deserve attention but not a Twitter-led frenzy. The
real test will be whether the national interest is served — costs
curtailed, structural reforms delivered and a blueprint to maximise
growth revealed.

ON the eve of the 1983 election, Bob Hawke ... told a willing
crowd at his campaign launch ... he would maintain controls on mortgage
interest rates, continue assistance for the footwear, clothing and
textile industries, fund a separate ABC rural network, construct the
National Museum, introduce a national Bill of Rights and fixed four-year
terms and wipe out (yes, wipe out) the tax evasion and avoidance
industry.
Which goes to prove that a tally of promises kept and those supposedly broken is a hopeless measure of a government’s worth.
There was barely a hint in Hawke’s campaign speech of the reforms by
which he came to be judged as one of Australia’s most successful prime
ministers. The Hawke government’s fiscal conservatism did not emerge
until his first budget…

Moments like this call for the advice from older and wiser heads, and
former Howard government minister David Kemp’s Alfred Deakin lecture
last week on the nature of good government was particularly well timed.
Kemp took issue with the current political orthodoxy that “good
government is simply doing after the election what the party promised
before … almost regardless of what it has a mandate to do.”

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===CARBON DIOXDIE LEVELS - AN ALL TIME HIGH ??It’s being reported in the media around the world that “Carbon dioxide levels have reached an all-time high.”

But take a look at the graph below – the black line shows carbon dioxide levels over the past 600 million years.

The facts are, that at 0.04% (400ppm) we are just above a 250-million-year low - and the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been much higher than today for most of the past 600 million years.
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===Nestled behind a waterfall in western New York state is an eternal flame whose beauty is only surpassed by its mystery. Perhaps lit by Native Americans hundreds or thousands of years ago, it is fed by a new type of geologic process that hasn't been recorded before in nature, researchers said. http://bit.ly/17RQOk9
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A mother's relentless love and unwavering prayers has saved more lives and done more good on earth than any other human activity.

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===“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”—a phrase so simple, yet so profound in its expression of a mother’s importance. Mothers have been entrusted with the responsibility of raising life’s most precious resource—our children.

I appreciate my mom and the example of love and grace she has been throughout the years. Thank you, Mom!

Todd and I also appreciate the honor of being the parents of five wonderful kids and two amazing little grandkids who have enriched our life together in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig are my life, and being joined now by Tripp Easton and Kyla Grace, I know that no matter what is going on in the world around me, they are the ones who keep me grounded. They are my daily reminders of what really matters.

Even as we celebrate Mother’s Day with family today, please stop to think of the many mothers who are separated from loved ones serving in the military and keeping us safe. I've been there, and especially today my heart goes out to those Blue Star moms who are missing their sons and daughters, while being so very proud. More than ever my heart extends to the precious Gold Star moms who are spending today holding on to memories of a child who paid the ultimate price. Whether it's been far away in specified combat zones, or attacks globally throughout the ongoing battle to defend our republic, or nearer home as the result of terrorist acts like Ft. Hood, the sacrifice of our military personnel and their families has not been in vain, and we will never forget.

Moms, whatever your plans today, know that you are appreciated year-round. One day is not enough to capture the essence of who you are, what you do, and the difference you make.

Driving in our truck this morning up towards Mt. McKinley, hauling kids and trailering snowmachines to launch on a trek to look for bear before the spring snow melts, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day, and God bless you!

- Sarah Palin
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===Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay.That is beautiful .. but I love a human woman .. I suspect I make her toe nails dig into the dirt, rage which gives her wings and reasons to argue more .. edShe is also in my head .. and she told me I love lots of people. Everyone. And I probably do make them feel that way at times. But I am grateful for the love God has given me. - ed
===Mother's Day....if raised too alone: A Beautiful Poem for youIf your motherwas caustic,toxic,abusive,vindictive,twisted,dangerous:

If she was irresistibly drawnto making much too clearthat her unhappiness—her pain,her dysfunction,her drama—was more precious to herthan you could ever be,so that as a child

youhad to live your lifefrightfully and desperatelyscroungingfor whateverfundamentally unacceptableversion of loveyou could squeeze from her,

then this Mother’s Day,

while others(as you imagine; as we all imagine)are basking in the warmthof their exemplary mothers,you close your eyes,and say a prayer

for two mothers:

the one you never had,and the one she never had.And then say a loving prayerfor yourself,for the childraised too alone.

And then open your eyes—

and there is the world,beautiful again.you are still here,and you are not done yet.
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1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first man with dark skin to command a United States ship.

1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:” - Proverbs 31:10, 27-28

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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

The Lord Jesus gives special revelations of himself to his people. Even if Scripture did not declare this, there are many of the children of God who could testify the truth of it from their own experience. They have had manifestations of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in a peculiar manner, such as no mere reading or hearing could afford. In the biographies of eminent saints, you will find many instances recorded in which Jesus has been pleased, in a very special manner to speak to their souls, and to unfold the wonders of his person; yea, so have their souls been steeped in happiness that they have thought themselves to be in heaven, whereas they were not there, though they were well nigh on the threshold of it--for when Jesus manifests himself to his people, it is heaven on earth; it is paradise in embryo; it is bliss begun. Especial manifestations of Christ exercise a holy influence on the believer's heart. One effect will be humility. If a man says, "I have had such-and-such spiritual communications, I am a great man," he has never had any communion with Jesus at all; for "God hath respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off." He does not need to come near them to know them, and will never give them any visits of love. Another effect will be happiness; for in God's presence there are pleasures for evermore. Holiness will be sure to follow. A man who has no holiness has never had this manifestation. Some men profess a great deal; but we must not believe any one unless we see that his deeds answer to what he says. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked." He will not bestow his favours upon the wicked: for while he will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he respect an evil doer. Thus there will be three effects of nearness to Jesus--humility, happiness, and holiness. May God give them to thee, Christian!

Evening

"Fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again."Genesis 46:3-4

Jacob must have shuddered at the thought of leaving the land of his father's sojourning, and dwelling among heathen strangers. It was a new scene, and likely to be a trying one: who shall venture among couriers of a foreign monarch without anxiety? Yet the way was evidently appointed for him, and therefore he resolved to go. This is frequently the position of believers now--they are called to perils and temptations altogether untried: at such seasons let them imitate Jacob's example by offering sacrifices of prayer unto God, and seeking his direction; let them not take a step until they have waited upon the Lord for his blessing: then they will have Jacob's companion to be their friend and helper. How blessed to feel assured that the Lord is with us in all our ways, and condescends to go down into our humiliations and banishments with us! Even beyond the ocean our Father's love beams like the sun in its strength. We cannot hesitate to go where Jehovah promises his presence; even the valley of deathshade grows bright with the radiance of this assurance. Marching onwards with faith in their God, believers shall have Jacob's promise. They shall be brought up again, whether it be from the troubles of life or the chambers of death. Jacob's seed came out of Egypt in due time, and so shall all the faithful pass unscathed through the tribulation of life, and the terror of death. Let us exercise Jacob's confidence. "Fear not," is the Lord's command and his divine encouragement to those who at his bidding are launching upon new seas; the divine presence and preservation forbid so much as one unbelieving fear. Without our God we should fear to move; but when he bids us to, it would be dangerous to tarry. Reader, go forward, and fear not.

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Theophilus

[Thēŏph'ĭlŭs] - loved by god, lover of god, or friend of god. A Christian of high rank for whose use Luke wrote his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). The term "most excellent," used also of Felix and Festus (Acts 23:26; 24:3; 26:25 ), indicates that Theophilus was a Roman official to whom Luke paid due deference, even though he was on intimate terms with him. It has been suggested "Theophilus" was the name this Gentile nobleman chose at his conversion to Christianity. Evidently Luke had fully instructed him in the cardinal truths of the Gospel (Luke 1:3).

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Today's reading: 2 Kings 15-16, John 3:1-18 (NIV)

Azariah King of Judah

1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."

My first novel - a legal thriller - is now being released. Here's why I believe fiction can open new doors for the spiritually curious.

My buddy Mark Mittelberg recently interviewed me about my first novel, The Ambition, which is being released in a few days by Zondervan.

Q. Hey, Lee, you're known for non-fiction. Why venture into the untested waters of fiction?

A. When I was in the fifth grade our nation was at the height of the Civil Rights movement. My teacher, working in an all-white suburb of Chicago, knew she couldn't speak her mind about the need for equal rights. It would have been political dynamite. So she read the class a novel about the effects of slavery on an average family in the ancient world. It was a fictional account but its background setting was historically accurate, and it provided a compelling allegory that helped shape me - and, I'm sure, many others in my class - into an advocate for civil rights in America.

That's the power of stories. We read in 2 Samuel 12 that when Nathan wanted to confront David about his infidelity and the slaying of Bathsheba's husband Uriah, he used an allegory. When Jesus wanted to teach lessons, he often used parables. Many times people are receptive to stories even though they'd be closed to straight-out information.

A. They say to write about what you know. When I was legal editor at the Chicago Tribune, I covered a lot of trials involving the crime syndicate. I hung around the courthouse, with the judges, prosecutors, cops and defense attorneys. Later I became a spiritual seeker and then a teaching pastor at two megachurches. So all of those experiences are reflected in the book.

Q. What would you say is the evidence for the Old Testament? I'm really impressed with your research on the New Testament, but I'm very curious about the Old. - Kyle

A. That's a really important question, Kyle, and I think you'll be encouraged by the evidence. It sounds like you're already aware of the historicity of Jesus and the rich manuscript evidence confirming the reliability of the New Testament, which I discuss in The Case for Christ and The Case for the Real Jesus. So it's important to remind ourselves of who Jesus is and what he says about the Old Testament.

After all, Jesus is not only the Messiah (also called Christ, meaning "anointed one"), but he is also the God-man, second person of the Trinity (for example, see John 8:58and John 10:30). And he personally affirmed that some of the most miraculous stories of the Old Testament, such as Noah and the flood (Matt. 24:37-38) and Jonah and the whale (Luke 11:29-32), are historical events.

Have a question? Send it to me at AskLee@Leestrobel.com. While the volume of emails precludes us from responding to each inquiry, we will choose questions with the broadest interest and offer responses in future newsletters.

Lee's Notes

• Are you on Twitter? Well, I'm finally tweeting - very actively! Please follow me at @Leestrobel. This is a great way to keep in contact and let you know about important and interesting developments. Thanks to Chad Cannon of Outreach Speakers for prodding me into action. Next: Facebook? In the meantime, join me on Twitter!

• Did you know that the tenth anniversary of 9/11 is falling on a Sunday? What's your church going to do to appropriately mark this milestone? Well, I'd like to come to your church that evening via a live simulcast to clarify what Islam is all about and how we can effectively reach out to Muslims in our neighborhood and workplace.

Mark Mittelberg and I will commemorate this world-changing event, and then we'll be joined by experts on Islam to get beyond the hype and hysteria and discuss what Muslims really believe. This won't be political or incendiary; instead, everyone will walk away with a more accurate and balanced understanding of this major world religion and how we can build better bridges to our Muslim friends. After all, ten years after 9/11, most Americans remain ill-informed about Islam.

If you're a pastor, please visit www.incastevents.com to get more information, view a video explaining the concept behind the event and sign up to participate. If you're a member of a church, let your pastor know about this. We hope your church will join us on the evening of September 11!

A megachurch pastor. A cynical reporter. A corrupt judge. A gambling addict. A mob murder. They're all in my first novel, The Ambition and foreshadowed in this 60-second Hollywood-style trailer.

Lee's Links: Suggested articles from the web

Megachurch hires H'wood directorAn Illinois church has hired director Dallas Jenkins and bought a sound stage to produce several faith-based films for theatrical and DVD release. Filming begins late 2011 or early 2012.

Conservative churches are thrivingSeminary president Al Mohler discusses the phenomenon that has liberals shaking their heads in disbelief: while mainline churches decline, theologically conservative churches continue to grow.

Learning from misleading article We can either spend our time critiquing a misleading article in The Nation about Christian adoption practices or learn from some of its critiques. Christianity Today wisely urges the latter.

Six thoughts about JesusJoe Carter, web editor of First Things, says these half-dozen thoughts he has about his Savior might be banal or obvious - but to the contrary, they're worth visiting.

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About Me

I'm author of History in a Year by the Conservative Voice aka History of the World in a Year by the Conservative Voice.

I'm the Conservative Voice.

I'm looking to make contact with those who might use my skill.

I have an m-audio mobile pre amp fed by the audiotechnica 2041sp condensor mic pack. Prior to 15/4/06, I'd used a Shure sm-58 that required a nuclear blast to register a sound or the internal mic of my aged imac, which has a penchance to recording my breathing. I also used a Griffin itrip, until the community convinced me it was not hiding my talent as well as the other mics.

I am a Writer and an occasional Math Teacher (Sir, what's the occasion?). I like to sing, having no instrumental talent (cannot even clap in time, and yes, I'm aware singing badly IS obnoxious).

I have performed the finale to Les Miserables before an audience of 500. I have also sung before a similar audience (students, parents) renditions of 'I Will' (Beatles), 'Mr Cairo' (Jon Vangelis) and 'I am Australian' (Seekers). Now I seek another profession because the audience hates me ..